[Jararvellir] Fwd: crwth: M-W's Word of the Day

[The Dark Lady]

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> 
> The Word of the Day for March 17 is: 
> 
> crwth   \KROOTH (rhymes with “booth”)\   noun
>           : an ancient Celtic stringed instrument
> that is plucked or bowed
> 
> Example sentence:
>           "He intricately rhymes, to the music of
> crwth and pibgorn, all night long." (Dylan Thomas,
> _Under Milk Wood_)
> 
> Did you know?
>           "Crwth" is the Welsh name for an ancient
> Celtic instrument that is similar to a violin. In
> Middle English, the instrument's name was spelled
> "crouth" before metamorphosing to "crowd," a word
> still used in some dialects of England to refer to a
> violin. The Welsh word can also refer to a swelling
> or bulging body, and we can speculate that it came
> to be used for the instrument because of the
> violin's bulging shape. Other Celtic words for
> "violin" also have meanings referring to rounded
> appearances. In Gaelic, for example, "cruit" can
> mean "harp" or "violin" as well as "hump" or
> "hunch." As a final note, we would like to mention
> (in case you were wondering) that a pibgorn is an
> ancient wind instrument similar to the hornpipe; its
> name comes from the Welsh word "pib," meaning
> "pipe," and "corn," meaning "horn."
> 
> 
> (c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
> 
> Merriam-Webster, Inc.
> 47 Federal Street
> P.O. Box 281
> Springfield, MA 01102
>

When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to adventure on life now, his vacation from humbler toil having commenced.    ---Thoreau


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